1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which can be hung in a trunk compartment of a vehicle for holding shopping bags with looped handles or cut outs.
2. Background of the Invention
A problem associated with transporting articles in either the trunk area or rear storage area of a vehicle is that unrestrained articles may shift during transportation. If an article moves while being transported, it may be damaged or may impact another article potentially causing damage or breakage to that article.
Various restraining devices have been developed to hold objects while being transported in a trunk or rear storage area of a vehicle. One example of a restraining, device is a cargo net that may be secured to the hack of a vehicle seat, the floor of the trunk, or the floor of the rear storage area. Since cargo nets provide a way to secure loose articles within a storage area or trunk but are not popular with consumers because they are not convenient to use and may become tangled with themselves or with articles that are stored within the cargo nets. Another example of a restraining device used in vehicles such as sport utility vehicles or mini-vans is a bag hook that is fastened to an interior surface such as a seat back. Bag hooks are normally permanently fastened to the vehicle interior in set locations and cannot be adjusted to accommodate differently sized objects.
The prior art discloses a number of devices used to support bags and other articles in an automobile. U.S. Pat. No. 1,656,339 issued Jan. 17, 1928 discloses a receptacle which is suspended from a rail at the back of an automobile seat to provide a holder for various articles. The receptacle is provided with a number of hangers in the form of hooks which are fastened to the receptacle and hung from a rail secured to the hack of a car seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,457 issued May 16, 1995 discloses a supporting, attachment such as a plastic grocery bag assembly mounted on a vehicle seat bag with a row of spaced apart shopping bag mounting hooks formed on the outer side of the seat back with rows of mounting flanges extending through a seat back insert.
U.S. Design Pat. D626,712 issued Nov. 2, 2010 discloses a bag holder which is mounted to brackets which in turn are mounted over a seat.